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French President Emmanuel Macron has called for the immediate release of former Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi after learning of her worsening health problems in military custody.

Mr Macron wrote to the 80-year-old to say he was “very concerned” to hear from her son about the deterioration of her health and difficulty in accessing appropriate care “in the context of an unfair detention”.

“We continue to call for your immediate and unconditional release, as well as that of President Win Myint and all those imprisoned for political reasons since the military coup of February 1, 2021,” he wrote.

Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights, has been imprisoned since the military coup deposed her elected government.

She faces a 27-year sentence for charges including incitement, corruption and election fraud, all of which she denies.

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File photo – Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained since the 2021 military coup (AP)

The military justified its takeover citing what it called widespread fraud in Suu Kyi’s party, although election monitors found no evidence of cheating.

Foreign governments and rights groups have consistently called for her release, branding the trials a sham.

Mr Macron wrote in his letter that Myanmar’s ambitions for free and sovereign elections had been “flouted”.

“This brutal and bloody challenge has drawn your country into a long-term crisis, with dramatic consequences for its populations and neighbouring states,” he said.

Mr Macron added that France would “support a de-escalation of violence and the paths to peace charted by legitimate political leaders”.

Suu Kyi’s son, Kim Aris, told The Independent: “It is encouraging and makes me very happy that President Macron is pushing for democracy in Burma.

“It is hugely appreciated and I hope will trigger more support from around the world. It is crucial that words translate into actions and that means liberating my mother Aung San Suu Kyi as well as bringing democracy to a country that is shackled by a military dictatorship.

“I also want to thank the French ambassador [Christian Lechervy] and hope others will follow France’s lead.”

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Aung San Suu Kyi looks on before the UN’s International Court of Justice on December 11, 2019 (ANP/AFP/Getty)

Mr Aris revealed in September that his mother was suffering from worsening heart problems and needed urgent medical attention in an appeal to release her from what he called “cruel and life threatening” custody.

A spokesperson for the military told state media at the time that her health was “good”, calling reports about her health “fabrications”.

Suu Kyi is believed to be held in solitary confinement in Naypyidaw, the capital. She has been detained by the military several times, and spent some 15 years mainly under house arrest before the 2021 coup.

Supporters say that Suu Kyi became a symbol of fledgling democracy in Myanmar after her National League for Democracy (NLD) came to power in 2015 and late 2020, contested by the Tatmadaw armed forces.

Thousands turned out in June to celebrate her 80th birthday and to call for her release, aiming to collect 80,000 greeting videos as others demonstrated in the streets against the government.

Critics, including former supporters, have condemned her perceived lack of action to defend the country’s mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.

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File photo – Emmanuel Macron joined the calls for Suu Kyi’s release (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Thousands of people fled across the border into Bangladesh in 2017 following a military-led crackdown that U.N. investigators said had been executed with “genocidal intent”.

In an Independent TV documentary about her fall from grace, Cancelled: The Rise and Fall of Aung San Suu Kyi, William Hague said it was possible to be critical of the country’s former leader, “but also say we should be campaigning for her release”.

David Lammy also pleaded for her release in January, calling on the military government to “release Aung San Suu Kyi” and “all those arbitrarily detained” to “give Myanmar’s people the peace and democracy they deserve”.